Chesbro bill to reimburse Mendocino for manhunt is put on hold

Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro, D-Arcata, presented the Assembly Appropriations Committee this week with a bill that would reimburse Mendocino County for expenses incurred for housing and feeding mutual aid responders who assisted in a massive manhunt last year.

The Appropriations Committee voted to further analyze AB 1863 for its fiscal impact. The committee will vote on the bill at a later, undetermined date. "

AB 1863 was triggered by an unprecedented manhunt for the suspected killer of Matthew Coleman and Councilmember Jere Melo," Chesbro said in a press release. "This manhunt involved 30 agencies and 300 officers. The manhunt spanned 36 days and required K-9 teams, SWAT teams and aerial units. The nature of this event, particularly the terrain involved, required far more resources than the small Fort Bragg community could provide, especially for such an extended duration."

The bill has two parts.

The first is an appropriation of about $40,000 to Mendocino County to reimburse the cost of hosting mutual aid responders. The second part establishes a framework to allow local law enforcement agencies to seek reimbursement for future extraordinary events like the Mendocino manhunt.

"This bill is designed for very rare circumstances and in those cases, would be very beneficial for small rural counties like Mendocino," Chesbro said. "Furthermore, this bill includes a number of safeguards to prevent extensive costs such as requiring the governor's approval through a disaster declaration."